Document 1: America may be more diverse than ever coast to coast, but the places where we live are becoming increasingly crowded with people who live, think and vote like we do. This transformation didn t happen by accident. We ve built a country where we can all choose the neighborhood and church and news show- most compatible with our lifestyle and beliefs. Americans have been sorting themselves over the past three decades into ideologically homogenous communities- not at the regional level, or the red-state/blue-state level, but at the micro level of city and neighborhood. And we are living with these consequences of self-segregation which has made our country so polarized, ideologically inbred, that people don t know and can t understand those who live just a few miles away. - Bill Bishop, The Big Sort: Why the Clustering of Like-Minded America is Tearing Us Apart, 2008. According to Bishop, where do Americans choose to live? What does Bishop think are the consequences of this? Document 2: It's what allows us to pursue our individual dreams, yet still come together as a single American family: "E pluribus unum," out of many, one. Now even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us, the spin masters and negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes. Well, I say to them tonight, there's not a liberal America and a conservative America; there's the United States of America. There's not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there's the United States of America. The pundits like to slice and dice our country into red states and blue States: red states for Republicans, blue States for Democrats. But I've got news for them, too. We worship an awesome God in the blue states, and we don't like federal agents poking around our libraries in the red states. We coach little league in the blue states and, yes, we've got some gay friends in the red states. There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq, and there are patriots who supported the war in Iraq. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America. In the end, that's what this election is about. Do we participate in a politics of cynicism, or do we participate in a politics of hope?... -Barack Obama, U.S. Senate Candidate. 2004 Democratic National Convention Keynote Address How does Barack Obama view the make-up of the United States? What examples does Obama use that best support his argument?
Document 3: -David Horsey, Seattle Post-Intelligencer. 2002 According to Horsey, what are the differences between Red States and Blue States? How extreme are these differences?
Document 4: -Pew Research: Beyond Red vs. Blue: The Political Typology (May 4, 2011) What issues seem to be most divisive? Which group(s) tend to disagree with each other the most? (In other words, they are most closely split 50-50 on many issues.) Which group(s) tend to be most consistently in agreement? (In other words, they are not closely split 50-50 on many issues.)
Document 5: Trends in Party Affiliation: The number of political independents has continued to grow, as both parties have lost ground among the public. Based on surveys conducted this year, 38% describe themselves as independents, up from 32% in 2008 and 30% in 2004. The proportion of independents is now higher than at any point in more than two decades. Looking back even further, independents are more numerous than at any point in the last 70 years. Meanwhile, the percentage of self-described Democrats has fallen from 36% four years ago to 32% today. Republican identification has remained largely stable over this period (24% today, 25% in 2008). In 1991, however, there were nearly equal percentages of Republicans (31%), Democrats (31%) and independents (33%). Little Shift in Ideology Despite electoral swings in recent elections, the fundamental ideological breakdown of the American public has shifted little in recent years. So far in 2012, 36% describe themselves as politically conservative, 22% say they are liberal and 37% say they are moderate. Throughout 2008, an average of 37% said they were conservative, 21% said they were liberal and 36% said they were moderate. The breakdown in 2004 was only slightly different: 37% conservative, 19% liberal and 39% moderate. - Pew Research: Partisan Polarization & Trends in American Values: 1987-2012 What has happened recently with self-described Independents, Democrats and Republicans? How much change has occurred in political ideology (liberal/moderate/conservative)?
Document 6: Although Americans often disagree on specific issues, they share a number of core beliefs and values. Those beliefs, some of which are listed below, shape our political culture. Keep in mind that individuals may vary in terms of their attachment to these core values. Liberty. Americans believe they are entitled to the greatest amount of liberty possible as long as they do no harm to others. They firmly believe that citizens should be able to express their views openly, without fear of punishment from by the government. Equality. Americans embrace equality of opportunity, without regard to race, religion, or gender. They believe that all citizens should enjoy the right to vote, to receive an education, to have a job and to succeed in life. Democracy. Americans support a democratic system of government. They believe that political authority comes from the people and that public officials should be accountable to the voters. The importance of majority rule and protection of minority rights are important related beliefs. - Government Alive! Power Politics and You. (pages 129-130) According to this source, what makes up American political culture? What does this source imply about what s more important specific issues, or core beliefs and values? How do you know? Document 7: Americans who blame Washington politicians for the polarization and gridlock of the nation's politics might want to look in the mirror: Like the elected officials they decry, voters tend to automatically retreat into partisan camps even when they disagree with the party line on policy. "There's no question the American public sees the country as divided and as increasingly divided, and as usual, they don't think it's their fault," says Democratic pollster Mark Mellman, who conducted the survey in conjunction with Republican pollster Whit Ayres. "The public blames the polarization and the partisanship on the politicians, but in all honesty, it's their fault, too." Consider this test: The survey asked 1,000 Americans to assess two education policies. The first plan was to reduce class sizes and make sure schools teach the basics. The second was to increase teacher pay while making it easier to fire bad teachers. For half the sample, the first plan was labeled a Democratic plan and the second a Republican plan. Then the labels were switched for the other half. The "Democratic" plan became the "Republican" plan, and vice versa. In both cases, about three-fourths of Democrats and Republicans lined up behind the plan they had been told belonged to their party. In fact, both sides were inclined to describe their support as intense, to say they "strongly" favored it regardless of which policy it happened to be. That predisposition to automatically retreat to separate camps is "one of the primary reasons why our political climate is so partisan and polarized," Mellman and Ayres write. - Susan Page. Political Partisanship Mirrors Public, USA TODAY March 6, 2013 According to this source, who is to blame for political partisanship? How does the survey about education help reinforce this argument?
Document 8: Americans have been debating since before the Constitution was ever signed. The past decade, beginning with the disputed election of 2000, has been a long national civics debate about what is best for America. For eight years under George W. Bush, the nation wrestled with the balance between privacy and security (an issue the framers had to debate) while the left portrayed the country as moving toward tyranny. For the last five years under President Obama, we have weighed issues of individual freedom vs. government control while the right has portrayed the country as moving toward a socialist welfare state. A new focus on the meaning of the Constitution is at the center of the political stage. Everywhere there seems to be debate about the scope and meaning and message of the Constitution. This is a healthy thing. Even the framers would agree on that. So are we in a crisis? In a word, no. The Constitution was born in crisis. It was written in secret and in violation of the existing one, the Articles of Confederation, at a time when no one know whether America would survive. The Constitution has never not been under threat. Today s debates represent conflict, not crisis. Conflict is at the core of our politics, and the Constitution is designed to manage it. There have few conflicts in American history greater than the internal debates the framers had about the Constitution. For better or worse- and I would argue better- the Constitution allows and even encourages deep arguments about the most basic democratic issues. A crisis is when the Constitution breaks down. We re not in danger of that, nor are we in danger of flipping the Constitution on its head and abandoning our nation s core values. - Richard Stengel. Does It Still Matter: The Constitution Today, TIME Magazine, July 4, 2011 What does the author think about the role of debate in our political culture? What is this source arguing about the existence of a current political crisis? How does he support his argument?
Document 9: - Facebook page of Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) Senate Minority Leader -Facebook page of Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-Ca) House Minority Leader What do the visuals and comments from each Facebook page reveal about political attitudes?
Document 10: Which elections are closest? Most lopsided? What demographic group(s) are most evenly split (closest to 50/50)? What demographic group(s) are most lopsided/consistent in who they vote for? Which demographic group(s) change who they vote for? - CNN Post Presidential Election Exit Poll Data
Document 11: - 270towin.com Electoral College Results What are key changes from map to map? What is important to know about the states that stay the same? What about the states that change?
Document 12: At the top of the column you can see the usual representation by state: who won where. One or the other. It shows a big area of red (republican) and some blue (democrat). If you see the results by county (second in the column), the difference between red and blue is even more overwhelming. Visually, it appears as if a few blue states are imposing their will on a huge majority of red states. We know that's not the case, but that's what the maps convey because we associate area and volume with importance. That's why those maps are not really good for understanding what really happened. They convey the wrong idea. The third map of the column is much more accurate. Created by Mark Newman from the Department of Physics and Center for the Study of Complex Systems, University of Michigan it mixes blue and red based on popular vote percentage instead of showing a binary representation. There's no huge area of red. There is a gradient. A lot of purple. That's the accurate map that reflects the actual result of the election. It also shows that the divide between the cities and the countryside is not that huge. There are differences of opinion everywhere. The large map is even better. It factors in population density, showing the importance of every county based on the population. The lighter the color, the less populated, the less weight in the election. The more saturated it is, the more populated and more weight it shows. - Jesus Diaz. This Is the Real Political Map of America We Are Not That Divided Gizmodo, 11/13/12 Why does the author claim that the 3 rd map and the big map are the most accurate? Which colors are most prominent in the 3 rd map and the big map? Red? Blue? Purple? What conclusions can be drawn from this fact?